Methods and apparatus to use station identification to enable confirmation of exposure to live media

ABSTRACT

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed to use station identification to enable confirmation of exposure to live media. Example apparatus disclosed herein include a watermark data segmenter to determine a media identifier conveyed by a watermark, a detection time determiner to determine a time at which a media meter detected the watermark from a media presentation by a media device, a reference identifier to query a library of reference signatures for a reference signature associated with the media identifier of the watermark and associated with a reference timestamp corresponding to the time at which the media meter detected the watermark, and a viewing type determiner to determine whether the media presentation is live or time-shifted based on whether a result of the query indicates the reference signature does not exist in the library of reference signatures.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent arises from a continuation of International PatentApplication No. PCT/US2021/040691, which was filed on Jul. 7, 2021,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/937,301,which was filed on Jul. 23, 2020. International Patent Application No.PCT/US2021/040691 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/937,301 arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their respective entireties.Priority to International Patent Application No. PCT/US2021/040691 andU.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/937,301 is hereby claimed.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates generally to media identification systems, and,more particularly, to methods and apparatus to use stationidentification to enable confirmation of exposure to live media.

BACKGROUND

Audience viewership data is collected and used by media monitoringentities to determine exposure statistics (e.g., viewership statistics)for different media. Some audience viewership data may be collectedthrough device meters that detect media watermarks and/or generate mediasignatures associated with media presented via media presentationdevices. Information from the device meters are processed by the mediamonitoring entities to determine useful media exposure data andassociated statistics.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example environment in which theteachings of this disclosure may be implemented.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example meter data analyzer included inthe example environment of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions which may be executed to implement the example meter dataanalyzer of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 .

FIG. 4 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions which may be executed to implement the example referenceidentifier included in the example meter data analyzer of FIGS. 1 and/or2 .

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example processing platform structuredto execute the instructions of FIGS. 3 and/or 4 to implement the examplemeter data analyzer of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 .

The figures are not to scale. In general, the same reference numberswill be used throughout the drawing(s) and accompanying writtendescription to refer to the same or like parts.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, descriptors such as “first,”“second,” “third,” etc. are used herein without imputing or otherwiseindicating any meaning of priority, physical order, arrangement in alist, and/or ordering in any way, but are merely used as labels and/orarbitrary names to distinguish elements for ease of understanding thedisclosed examples. In some examples, the descriptor “first” may be usedto refer to an element in the detailed description, while the sameelement may be referred to in a claim with a different descriptor suchas “second” or “third.” In such instances, it should be understood thatsuch descriptors are used merely for identifying those elementsdistinctly that might, for example, otherwise share a same name. As usedherein “substantially real time” refers to occurrence in a nearinstantaneous manner recognizing there may be real world delays forcomputing time, transmission, etc. Thus, unless otherwise specified,“substantially real time” refers to real time +/−1 second.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As used herein, the term “media” includes any type of content and/oradvertisement delivered via any type of distribution medium. Thus, mediaincludes television programming or advertisements, radio programming oradvertisements, movies, web sites, streaming media, etc.

Example methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture disclosed hereinmonitor media presentations at media devices. Such media devices mayinclude, for example, Internet-enabled televisions, personal computers,Internet-enabled mobile handsets (e.g., a smartphone), video gameconsoles (e.g., Xbox®, PlayStation®), tablet computers (e.g., an iPad®),digital media players (e.g., a Roku® media player, a Slingbox®, etc.),etc.

In some examples, media monitoring information is aggregated todetermine ownership and/or usage statistics of media devices, determinethe media presented by the media devices, determine audience ratings,determine relative rankings of usage and/or ownership of media devices,determine types of uses of media devices (e.g., whether a device is usedfor browsing the Internet, streaming media from the Internet, etc.),and/or determine other types of media device information. In examplesdisclosed herein, monitoring information includes, but is not limitedto, one or more of media identifying information (e.g.,media-identifying metadata, codes, signatures, watermarks, and/or otherinformation that may be used to identify presented media), applicationusage information (e.g., an identifier of an application, a time and/orduration of use of the application, a rating of the application, etc.),and/or user-identifying information (e.g., demographic information, auser identifier, a panelist identifier, a username, etc.), etc.

Signature-based media monitoring generally involves determining (e.g.,generating and/or collecting) signature(s) representative of a mediasignal (e.g., an audio signal and/or a video signal) output by amonitored media device and comparing the monitored signature(s) to oneor more references signatures corresponding to known (e.g., reference)media source feeds. Various comparison criteria, such as across-correlation value, a Hamming distance, etc., can be evaluated todetermine whether a monitored signature matches a particular referencesignature. When a match between the monitored signature and a referencesignature is found, the monitored media can be identified ascorresponding to the particular reference media represented by thereference signature that matched with the monitored signature. Becauseattributes, such as an identifier of the media, a presentation time, abroadcast channel, etc., are collected for the reference signature(s),these attributes may then be associated with the monitored media whosemonitored signature matched the reference signature(s).

Media monitoring entities can generate media reference databases thatcan include unhashed signatures, hashed signatures, and watermarks.These references are generated by a media monitoring entity (e.g., at amedia monitoring station (MMS), etc.) by monitoring a media source feed,identifying any encoded watermarks and determining signatures associatedwith the media source feed. In some examples, the media monitoringentity can hash the determined signatures. A media monitoring entity mayadditionally or alternatively generate reference signatures fordownloaded reference media, reference media transmitted to the mediamonitoring entity from one or more media providers, etc.

In some examples, media monitoring entities store generated referencedatabases and gathered monitoring data on cloud storage services (e.g.,Amazon Web Services™, etc.). To allow the crediting of time-shiftedviewing (e.g., viewing media via a digital video recorder (DVR), etc.),the stored references are retained for a period of time after theinitial presentation of the media.

In some examples, audio watermarking is used to identify media such astelevision broadcasts, radio broadcasts, advertisements (televisionand/or radio), downloaded media, streaming media, prepackaged media,etc. Existing audio watermarking techniques identify media by embeddingone or more audio codes (e.g., one or more watermarks), such as mediaidentifying information and/or an identifier that may be mapped to mediaidentifying information, into an audio and/or video component of themedia. In some examples, the watermark is embedded in the audio or videocomponent so that the watermark is hidden.

As used herein, the terms “code” or “watermark” are used interchangeablyand are defined to mean any identification information (e.g., anidentifier) that may be inserted or embedded in the audio or video ofmedia (e.g., a program or advertisement) for the purpose of identifyingthe media or for another purpose such as tuning (e.g., a packetidentifying header).

In some examples, to identify watermarked media, the watermark(s) areextracted and used to access a table of reference watermarks that aremapped to media identifying information. In some examples, mediamonitoring companies provide watermarks and watermarking devices tomedia providers with which to encode their media source feeds. In someexamples, if a media provider provides multiple media source feeds(e.g., ESPN and ESPN 2, etc.), a media provider can provide a differentwatermark for each media source feed.

In some examples, a user may be exposed to watermarked media inenvironments with ambient noise (e.g., background noises, conversations,etc.). In some such environments, media monitoring meters that usemicrophones to detect media exposure (e.g., audio meters) can havedifficulty with accurately capturing watermarks in the audio signals. Insome examples, the audio meters detect watermarks in a watermarked audiosignal and process the watermark to identify the media identifier(s) andtimestamp associated with the watermarked media. In some examples, themedia identifier is a station identification (ID). In some examples, thestation ID identifies the broadcaster of the media (e.g., ABC, Fox,etc.), and the timestamp identifies when the media was broadcasted(e.g., 7 PM Eastern, etc.). In some examples, media identifier(s) of thewatermark include other media identifiers in addition to the station ID(e.g., program identifiers, episode identifiers, etc.). The timestampdata of watermarked media can be vulnerable to interference from ambientnoise. For example, the station ID may be repeated in multiplewatermarks encoded in the watermarked media, and such repetition can beused to improve the detection rate of the station ID. However, thetimestamp data may not be repeated and, thus, may be more susceptible todecoding errors in the presence of ambient noise. In such examples, themedia monitoring entity may be unable to reliably report the encodedtimestamp of a media watermark because a media monitoring meter (e.g.,an audio meter) is able to decode a station ID of the media watermarksin an environment with ambient noise but is unable to decode thetimestamp(s) of one or more watermarks. In such examples, the mediamonitoring entity is unable to identify the watermarked media as live ortime-shifted. In some examples, live media refers to media that isdetected by a meter at the scheduled broadcasting time for the media. Insome examples, time-shifted media refers to media that is detected by ameter outside of the scheduled broadcasting time for the media (e.g.,when the media is recorded and then presented at a later time).

Examples disclosed herein improve media monitoring reliability inenvironments that contain ambient noise. Examples disclosed herein usethe station ID from an identified watermark in conjunction withsignature based matching to determine the presentation timecharacteristic(s) of the media (e.g., live or time-shifted). In someexamples, the media meter generates and reports signatures and alsodecodes watermarks from media signals (e.g., media audio signal). Insuch examples, the media monitoring entity can run a signature matchusing the station ID decoded from the watermark to determine if themonitored media is live or time-shifted without needing to decode thetimestamp of the watermark. Examples disclosed herein use the station IDduring signature matching to reduce the number of false positives duringthe signature matching process. In some examples, the station ID focusesthe signature matching lookup, which makes the signature matching lessprocess intensive and more reliable. Examples disclosed herein allowleveraging the information from the detected watermarks in a challengingacoustic environment.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example environment in which theteachings of this disclosure may be implemented. The example environment100 of FIG. 1 includes an example media meter 105, an example network110, and an example data center 115. The example data center 115includes an example meter data analyzer 120, an example referencedatabase 130, and an example live media creditor 140.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 1 , the example media meter 105collects media monitoring information. In some examples, the media meter105 is associated with (e.g., installed on, coupled to, etc.) a mediadevice. For example, a media device associated with the media meter 105presents media (e.g., via a display, etc.). In some examples, the mediadevice associated with the media meter 105 additionally or alternativelypresents the media on separate media presentation equipment (e.g.,speakers, a display, etc.). For example, the media device associatedwith the media meter 105 can include a personal computer, anInternet-enabled mobile handset (e.g., a smartphone, an iPod®, etc.), avideo game console (e.g., Xbox®, PlayStation 3, etc.), a tablet computer(e.g., an iPad®, a Motorola™ Xoom™, etc.), a digital media player (e.g.,a Roku® media player, a Slingbox®, a Tivo®, etc.), a television, adesktop computer, a laptop computer, a server, etc. In some examples,the media meter 105 can have direct connections (e.g., physicalconnections) to the media device to be monitored, and/or may beconnected wirelessly (e.g., via Wi-Fi, via Bluetooth, etc.) to the mediadevice to be monitored.

Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the media meter 105 isa portable meter carried by one or more individual people. In theillustrated example, the media meter 105 monitors media presented to oneor more people associated with the media meter 105 and generatesmonitoring data. In some examples, the monitoring data generated by themedia meter 105 can include watermarks embedded in the audio signals ofthe presented media. In some examples, the media meter 105 candetect/decode the watermarks embedded in the audio signals. In someexamples, the media meter 105 can generate signatures associated withthe presented media while also decoding the watermarks from thepresented media. For example, the media meter 105 can determine asignature (e.g., generate signatures, extract signatures, etc.)associated with the presented media that included the embeddedwatermark.

The example network 110 of the illustrated example of FIG. 1 is anetwork used to transmit the monitoring data to the data center 115. Insome examples, the network 110 can be the Internet and/or any othersuitable external network. In some examples, any other suitable means oftransmitting the monitoring data to the data center 115 can be used.

The example data center 115 of the illustrated example of FIG. 1 is anexecution environment used to implement the example meter data analyzer120, the example reference database 130, and the example live mediacreditor 140. In some examples, the data center 115 is associated with amedia monitoring entity. In some examples, the data center 115 can be aphysical processing center (e.g., a central facility of the mediamonitoring entity, etc.). Additionally or alternatively, the data center115 can be implemented via a cloud service (e.g., Amazon Web Services™,etc.). In this example, the data center 115 can further store andprocess reported watermark and signature reference data.

The example meter data analyzer 120 of the illustrated example of FIG. 1processes the gathered media monitoring data to detect and identifymedia associated with the monitoring data from the example media meter105. In some examples, the meter data analyzer 120 collects the stationID and timestamp from the monitoring data generated by the example mediameter 105. In some examples, the meter data analyzer 120 receives thewatermark payload data (e.g., data symbols) in the monitoring datagenerated by the example media meter 105. In such examples, the meterdata analyzer 120 decodes the watermark data in the monitoring data todetermine the station ID and timestamp. Additionally or alternatively,the meter data analyzer 120 decodes the watermark data in the monitoringdata to determine other media identifiers (e.g., program identifier,episode identifier, etc.). In some examples, the meter data analyzer 120determines that the monitoring data experienced interference and/orother errors in decoding the timestamp of the watermark, and the examplemeter data analyzer performs a signature matching search with thestation ID of the watermark to determine a detection time for the mediaassociated with the watermark. However, the meter data analyzer 120 canadditionally or alternatively perform a signature matching search withthe other media identifiers. An example implementation of the meter dataanalyzer 120 is described below in conjunction with FIG. 2 .

The example reference database 130 of the illustrated example of FIG. 1includes generated reference signatures created or otherwise obtained bythe example data center 115. In some examples, the media monitoringentity associated with the reference database 130 can directly monitormedia source feeds to generate reference signatures. Additionally oralternatively, the media monitoring entity associated with the referencedatabase 130 can generate reference signatures from downloaded referencemedia, etc. In some examples, each reference signature stored in thereference database 130 is associated with a particular reference media,such as, but not limited to, an episode of a television series, a movie,an advertisement, etc. In some examples, each reference signature storedin the reference database 130 is associated with a timestamp, whichindicates a time associated with the reference signature, such as abroadcast time of the reference media or portion thereof represented bythe reference signature, a time within the reference media (e.g., a timein content) represented by the reference signature, a time at which thereference signature was generated, etc. In some examples, the referencesignature can be associated with multiple timestamps representative ofsuch different times. In some examples, the reference database 130 caninclude a library (e.g., database, table, etc.) of reference signatures.

The example live media creditor 140 of the illustrated example of FIG. 1uses identification data from the example meter data analyzer 120 tocredit the media exposure as either live or time-shifted. In someexamples, the live media creditor 140 generates a report including datametrics regarding live or time-shifted media that may be presented tomedia providers.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example implementation of the examplemeter data analyzer 120 of FIG. 1 . The example meter data analyzer 120of FIG. 2 includes an example network interface 202, an examplewatermark data segmenter 204, an example detection time determiner 206,an example database interface 208, an example reference identifier 210,an example signature matcher 212, an example viewing type determiner214, and an example creditor interface 216.

The example network interface 202 of the illustrated example FIG. 2allows the example meter data analyzer 120 of FIG. 1 to receive themonitoring data from the example network 110. In some examples, thenetwork interface 202 can convert the monitoring data into a formatreadable by the meter data analyzer 120. In some examples, the networkinterface 202 can be in continuous communication with the network 110and/or the media meter 105. In some examples, the network interface 202can be in intermittent (e.g., periodic or aperiodic) communication withthe network 110 and/or the media meter 105. In some examples, thenetwork interface 202 can be absent. In such examples, the media meter105 can be in direct communication with the meter data analyzer 120. Forexample, if the example meter data analyzer 120 is implemented via acloud service, the media meter 105 can upload the monitoring datadirectly to the cloud service. In some examples, the network interface202 obtains a media watermark from the monitoring data. In someexamples, the network interface 202 obtains the station ID and timestampof the decoded media watermark from the monitoring data. In someexamples, the network interface 202 obtains the watermark symbols fromthe monitoring data and decodes the symbols to determine the station ID,timestamp, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the network interface 202obtains other media identifiers (e.g., program identifier, episodeidentifier, etc.) from the media watermark.

The example watermark data segmenter 204 of the illustrated example ofFIG. 2 obtains the watermark data from the example network interface202. In some examples, the watermark data segmenter 204 identifies thestation ID from the decoded watermark. In some examples, the watermarkdata segmenter 204 decodes the watermark symbol to identify the stationID of the watermark. However, the watermark data segmenter 204 canadditionally or alternatively identify the other media identifiers ofthe watermark.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 2 , the example detection timedeterminer 206 determines the time of detection for the watermark. Insome examples, the media meter 105 of the example of FIG. 1 records thetime (e.g., time of day) at which the watermark was detected in amonitored audio signal. In such examples, the example media meter 105includes the time of detection in the monitoring data obtained by thenetwork interface 202. In some examples, the detection time determiner206 obtains the time of detection recorded by the example media meter105.

The example database interface 208 of the illustrated example of FIG. 2obtains example reference signatures from the example reference database130. In some examples, the database interface 208 provides the examplereference identifier 210 with access to the example reference signaturesstored in the example reference database 130.

The example reference identifier 210 of the illustrated example of FIG.2 identifies reference signatures in the example reference database 130that are associated with reference information corresponding to thewatermark data. For example, the reference identifier 210 identifies ifany reference signatures stored in the reference database 130 areassociated with the station identifier of the watermark. In someexamples, the reference identifier 210 queries a library of referencesignatures for reference signature(s) associated with the station ID ofthe watermark. However, the reference identifier 210 can additionally oralternatively query the library of reference signatures for referencesignature(s) associated with the other media identifiers of thewatermark (e.g., program identifier, episode identifier, etc.). In someexamples, the reference identifier 210 determines if any of theidentified reference signatures having the same station ID as thewatermark are associated with a reference timestamp that corresponds tothe watermark time of detection. For example, the reference identifier210 queries the identified reference signatures with the same station IDfor a reference signature that is associated with a reference timestampthat represents a media presentation time (e.g., a broadcast time, adownload time, etc.) corresponding to the time at which the media meter105 detected the watermark. In such examples, “corresponding to” refersto the reference timestamp being within a tolerance or threshold of timefrom the watermark time of detection (e.g., the difference in timebetween the reference timestamp and the watermark time of detectionsatisfies the threshold). For example, the tolerance or threshold oftime may be within three seconds, five seconds, etc. If the examplereference identifier 210 determines that an identified referencesignature is associated with a reference timestamp that corresponds tothe watermark time of detection, then the reference identifier 210identifies the reference signature with similar reference information.In some examples, the reference identifier 210 provides the informationof the reference signature to the example signature matcher 212. In someexamples, the reference identifier 210 identifies a sequence ofreference signatures with similar reference information. If the examplereference identifier 210 determines that none of the identifiedreference signatures are associated with the reference timescorresponding to the watermark time of detection, then the examplereference identifier 210 does not identify any reference signatures. Insome examples, the reference identifier 210 provides the signaturematcher 212 with no reference signatures.

The example signature matcher 212 of the illustrated example of FIG. 2determines if the reference identifier 210 identified a referencesignature or sequence of reference signatures. If the signature matcher212 does not receive an identified reference signature or sequence ofidentified reference signatures, then the signature matcher 212 does notperform signature matching and does not provide the example viewing typedeterminer 214 with a successful match. If the signature matcher 212receives an identified reference signature or sequence of identifiedreference signatures, then the signature matcher 212 performs signaturematching between the identified reference signature from the examplereference identifier 210 and the monitored media signatures from theexample media meter 105 of FIG. 1 . In some examples, the media meter105 can generate monitored media signatures associated with thepresented media while also decoding the watermark from the presentedmedia. For example, the monitoring data from the media meter 105 caninclude monitored media signatures that were generated by the mediameter 105 for the presented media that included the watermark. Thesignature matcher 212 compares the monitored media signatures in themonitoring data to the identified reference signature or sequence ofidentified reference signatures from the example reference identifier210. For example, the signature matcher 212 can determine if themonitored media signatures of the monitoring data match the referencedata of the identified reference signatures. In some examples disclosedherein, the signature matcher 212 may perform matching using anysuitable means (e.g., linear matching, hashed matching, etc.).

In the illustrated example of FIG. 2 , the example viewing typedeterminer 214 determines if the signature matching was successful. Insome examples, the viewing type determiner 214 determines that thesignature matching was successful when the example signature matcher 212provides a matching reference signature or sequence of matchingreference signatures to the viewing type determiner 214. For example,the viewing type determiner 214 determines that the signature matchingwas successful when the example signature matcher 212 matches theidentified reference signature or sequence of identified referencesignatures from the reference identifier 210 to the monitored mediasignatures from the example media meter 105. In some examples, theviewing type determiner 214 determines that the signature matching wasnot successful when the example signature matcher 212 does not provide amatching reference signature or sequence of matching referencesignatures to the viewing type determiner 214. For example, the viewingtype determiner 214 determines that the signature matching was notsuccessful when the example signature matcher 212 does not match theidentified reference signature or sequence of identified referencesignatures from the reference identifier 210 to the monitored mediasignatures from the example media meter 105. If the example viewing typedeterminer 214 determines that signature matching was successful, thenthe viewing type determiner 214 identifies the watermarked media aslive. If the example viewing type determiner 214 determines that thesignature matching was not successful, then the viewing type determiner214 identifies the watermarked media as time-shifted. The exampleviewing type determiner 214 provides the example creditor interface 216with the live identification or the time-shifted identification for thewatermarked media.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 2 , the example creditor interface216 credits the watermarked media as either live or time-shifted basedon the output of the example viewing type determiner 214. The examplecreditor interface 216 generates identification data for the watermarkedmedia based on the output of the example viewing type determiner 214. Insome examples, the creditor interface 216 transmits the identificationdata to the live media creditor 140.

While an example manner of implementing the example meter data analyzer120 of FIG. 1 is illustrated in FIG. 2 , one or more of the elements,processes and/or devices illustrated in FIGS. 2 may be combined,divided, re-arranged, omitted, eliminated and/or implemented in anyother way. Further, the example network interface 202, the examplewatermark data segmenter 204, the example detection time determiner 206,the example database interface 208, the example reference identifier210, the example signature matcher 212, the example viewing typedeterminer 214, the example creditor interface 216 and/or, moregenerally, the example meter data analyzer 120 of FIG. 2 may beimplemented by hardware, software, firmware and/or any combination ofhardware, software and/or firmware. Thus, for example, any of theexample network interface 202, the example watermark data segmenter 204,the example detection time determiner 206, the example databaseinterface 208, the reference identifier 210, the example signaturematcher 212, the example viewing type determiner 214, the examplecreditor interface 216 and/or, more generally, the example meter dataanalyzer 120 could be implemented by one or more analog or digitalcircuit(s), logic circuits, programmable processor(s), programmablecontroller(s), graphics processing unit(s) (GPU(s)), digital signalprocessor(s) (DSP(s)), application specific integrated circuit(s)(ASIC(s)), programmable logic device(s) (PLD(s)) and/or fieldprogrammable logic device(s) (FPLD(s)). When reading any of theapparatus or system claims of this patent to cover a purely softwareand/or firmware implementation, at least one of the example networkinterface 202, the example watermark data segmenter 204, the exampledetection time determiner 206, the example database interface 208, thereference identifier 210, the example signature matcher 212, the exampleviewing type determiner 214, and/or the example creditor interface 216is/are hereby expressly defined to include a non-transitory computerreadable storage device or storage disk such as a memory, a digitalversatile disk (DVD), a compact disk (CD), a Blu-ray disk, etc.including the software and/or firmware. Further still, the example meterdata analyzer 120 of FIG. 2 may include one or more elements, processesand/or devices in addition to, or instead of, those illustrated in FIGS.3 and 4 , and/or may include more than one of any or all of theillustrated elements, processes and devices. As used herein, the phrase“in communication,” including variations thereof, encompasses directcommunication and/or indirect communication through one or moreintermediary components, and does not require direct physical (e.g.,wired) communication and/or constant communication, but ratheradditionally includes selective communication at periodic intervals,scheduled intervals, aperiodic intervals, and/or one-time events.

Flowcharts representative of example hardware logic, machine readableinstructions, hardware implemented state machines, and/or anycombination thereof for implementing the meter data analyzer 120 of FIG.2 are shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 . The machine readable instructions may beone or more executable programs or portion(s) of an executable programfor execution by a computer processor and/or processor circuitry, suchas the processor 512 shown in the example processor platform 500discussed below in connection with FIG. 5 . The program(s) may beembodied in software stored on a non-transitory computer readablestorage medium such as a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, a hard drive, a DVD, aBlu-ray disk, or a memory associated with the processor 512, but theentire program(s) and/or parts thereof could alternatively be executedby a device other than the processor 512 and/or embodied in firmware ordedicated hardware. Further, although the example program(s) is(are)described with reference to the flowchart illustrated in FIGS. 4-5 ,many other methods of implementing the example meter data analyzer 120of FIG. 2 may alternatively be used. For example, the order of executionof the blocks may be changed, and/or some of the blocks described may bechanged, eliminated, or combined. Additionally or alternatively, any orall of the blocks may be implemented by one or more hardware circuits(e.g., discrete and/or integrated analog and/or digital circuitry, anFPGA, an ASIC, a comparator, an operational-amplifier (op-amp), a logiccircuit, etc.) structured to perform the corresponding operation withoutexecuting software or firmware. The processor circuitry may bedistributed in different network locations and/or local to one or moredevices (e.g., a multi-core processor in a single machine, multipleprocessors distributed across a server rack, etc.).

The machine readable instructions described herein may be stored in oneor more of a compressed format, an encrypted format, a fragmentedformat, a compiled format, an executable format, a packaged format, etc.Machine readable instructions as described herein may be stored as dataor a data structure (e.g., portions of instructions, code,representations of code, etc.) that may be utilized to create,manufacture, and/or produce machine executable instructions. Forexample, the machine readable instructions may be fragmented and storedon one or more storage devices and/or computing devices (e.g., servers)located at the same or different locations of a network or collection ofnetworks (e.g., in the cloud, in edge devices, etc.). The machinereadable instructions may require one or more of installation,modification, adaptation, updating, combining, supplementing,configuring, decryption, decompression, unpacking, distribution,reassignment, compilation, etc. in order to make them directly readable,interpretable, and/or executable by a computing device and/or othermachine. For example, the machine readable instructions may be stored inmultiple parts, which are individually compressed, encrypted, and storedon separate computing devices, wherein the parts when decrypted,decompressed, and combined form a set of executable instructions thatimplement one or more functions that may together form a program such asthat described herein.

In another example, the machine readable instructions may be stored in astate in which they may be read by processor circuitry, but requireaddition of a library (e.g., a dynamic link library (DLL)), a softwaredevelopment kit (SDK), an application programming interface (API), etc.in order to execute the instructions on a particular computing device orother device. In another example, the machine readable instructions mayneed to be configured (e.g., settings stored, data input, networkaddresses recorded, etc.) before the machine readable instructionsand/or the corresponding program(s) can be executed in whole or in part.Thus, machine readable media, as used herein, may include machinereadable instructions and/or program(s) regardless of the particularformat or state of the machine readable instructions and/or program(s)when stored or otherwise at rest or in transit.

The machine readable instructions described herein can be represented byany past, present, or future instruction language, scripting language,programming language, etc. For example, the machine readableinstructions may be represented using any of the following languages: C,C++, Java, C #, Perl, Python, JavaScript, HyperText Markup Language(HTML), Structured Query Language (SQL), Swift, etc.

As mentioned above, the example processes of FIGS. 3 and 4 may beimplemented using executable instructions (e.g., computer and/or machinereadable instructions) stored on a non-transitory computer and/ormachine readable medium such as a hard disk drive, a flash memory, aread-only memory, a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a cache, arandom-access memory and/or any other storage device or storage disk inwhich information is stored for any duration (e.g., for extended timeperiods, permanently, for brief instances, for temporarily buffering,and/or for caching of the information). As used herein, the termnon-transitory computer readable medium is expressly defined to includeany type of computer readable storage device and/or storage disk and toexclude propagating signals and to exclude transmission media.

“Including” and “comprising” (and all forms and tenses thereof) are usedherein to be open ended terms. Thus, whenever a claim employs any formof “include” or “comprise” (e.g., comprises, includes, comprising,including, having, etc.) as a preamble or within a claim recitation ofany kind, it is to be understood that additional elements, terms, etc.may be present without falling outside the scope of the correspondingclaim or recitation. As used herein, when the phrase “at least” is usedas the transition term in, for example, a preamble of a claim, it isopen-ended in the same manner as the term “comprising” and “including”are open ended. The term “and/or” when used, for example, in a form suchas A, B, and/or C refers to any combination or subset of A, B, C such as(1) A alone, (2) B alone, (3) C alone, (4) A with B, (5) A with C, (6) Bwith C, and (7) A with B and with C. As used herein in the context ofdescribing structures, components, items, objects and/or things, thephrase “at least one of A and B” is intended to refer to implementationsincluding any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, and (3) atleast one A and at least one B. Similarly, as used herein in the contextof describing structures, components, items, objects and/or things, thephrase “at least one of A or B” is intended to refer to implementationsincluding any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, and (3) atleast one A and at least one B. As used herein in the context ofdescribing the performance or execution of processes, instructions,actions, activities and/or steps, the phrase “at least one of A and B”is intended to refer to implementations including any of (1) at leastone A, (2) at least one B, and (3) at least one A and at least one B.Similarly, as used herein in the context of describing the performanceor execution of processes, instructions, actions, activities and/orsteps, the phrase “at least one of A or B” is intended to refer toimplementations including any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B,and (3) at least one A and at least one B.

As used herein, singular references (e.g., “a”, “an”, “first”, “second”,etc.) do not exclude a plurality. The term “a” or “an” entity, as usedherein, refers to one or more of that entity. The terms “a” (or “an”),“one or more”, and “at least one” can be used interchangeably herein.Furthermore, although individually listed, a plurality of means,elements or method actions may be implemented by, e.g., a single unit orprocessor. Additionally, although individual features may be included indifferent examples or claims, these may possibly be combined, and theinclusion in different examples or claims does not imply that acombination of features is not feasible and/or advantageous.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart representative of machine readable instructionswhich may be executed to implement the example meter data analyzer 120of FIG. 2 . The program 300 of FIG. 3 begins execution at block 302 atwhich the example network interface 202 collects monitoring data fromthe example network 110. In some examples, the network interface 202 canbe in continuous communication with the network 110 and/or the mediameter 105. In some examples, the network interface 202 can be inintermittent (e.g., periodic or aperiodic) communication with thenetwork 110 and/or the media meter 105. At block 304, the examplenetwork interface 202 obtains a media watermark from the monitoringdata. In some examples, the network interface 202 obtains the station IDand timestamp of the decoded media watermark from the monitoring data.In some examples, the network interface 202 obtains the watermark datasymbols (e.g., watermark payload data) from the monitoring data.

At block 306, the example watermark data segmenter 204 identifies thestation identifier from the watermark. In some examples, the watermarkdata segmenter 204 obtains the watermark data from the example networkinterface 202. In some examples, the watermark data segmenter 204identifies the station ID from the decoded watermark. In some examples,the watermark data segmenter 204 decodes the watermark symbol toidentify the station ID of the watermark. In the illustrated example,the watermark data segmenter 204 provides the station ID to thedetection time determiner 206.

At block 308, the example detection time determiner 206 determines atime of detection for the watermark. In some examples, the media meter105 of the example FIG. 1 records the time that the watermark wasdetected in a monitored media signal (e.g., a monitored audio signal).In such examples, the example media meter 105 includes the time ofdetection in the monitoring data obtained by the network interface 202.In some examples, the detection time determiner 206 obtains the time ofdetection recorded by the example media meter 105.

At block 310, the example database interface 208 obtains the examplereference signatures from the example reference database 130. In someexamples, the database interface 208 provides the example signaturematcher 212 with access to the example reference signatures stored inthe example reference database 130.

At block 312, the example reference identifier 210 identifies referencesignatures. The reference identifier 210 identifies reference signaturesin the example reference database 130 that are associated with referenceinformation corresponding to the watermark data. As described in furtherdetail below, the example flowchart 312 of FIG. 4 represents exampleinstructions that may be implemented to perform the identification ofthe reference signatures.

At block 314, the example signature matcher 212 determines if anyreference signatures were identified by the example reference identifier210. The signature matcher 212 determines if the reference identifier210 identified a reference signature or sequence of referencesignatures. If the signature matcher 212 does not receive an identifiedreference signature or sequence of identified reference signatures fromthe reference identifier 210, then process 300 continues to block 322 atwhich the example creditor interface 216 credits the media astime-shifted. In some examples, if the signature matcher 212 does notreceive an identified reference signature or sequence of identifiedreference signatures, then the signature matcher 212 does not performsignature matching and does not provide the example viewing typedeterminer 214 with a successful match. If the signature matcher 212receives an identified reference signature or sequence of identifiedreference signatures from the reference identifier 210, then process 300continues to block 316 at which the example signature matcher 212performs signature matching.

At block 316, the example signature matcher 212 performs signaturematching. In some examples, the signature matcher 212 performs signaturematching between the identified reference signature from the examplereference identifier 210 and the monitored media signatures from theexample media meter 105 of FIG. 1 . In some examples, the media meter105 can generate monitored media signatures associated with thepresented media while also decoding the watermarks from the presentedmedia. For example, the monitoring data from the media meter 105 caninclude monitored media signatures that were generated by the mediameter 105 for the presented media that included the watermark. Thesignature matcher 212 compares the monitored media signatures in themonitoring data to the identified reference signature or sequence ofidentified reference signatures from the example reference identifier210. For example, the signature matcher 212 can determine if themonitored media signatures of the monitoring data match the referencedata of the identified reference signatures. In some examples disclosedherein, the signature matcher 212 may perform matching using anysuitable means (e.g., linear matching, hashed matching, etc.).

At block 318, the example viewing type determiner 214 determines if thesignature matching was successful. In some examples, the example viewingtype determiner 214 determines that the signature matching wassuccessful when the example signature matcher 212 provides the exampleviewing type determiner 214 with a matching reference signature orsequence of matching reference signatures from the example referenceidentifier 210. For example, the viewing type determiner 214 determinesthat the signature matching was successful when the example signaturematcher 212 matches the identified reference signature or sequence ofidentified reference signatures from the reference identifier 210 to themonitored media signatures from the example media meter 105. In someexamples, the example viewing type determiner 214 determines that thesignature matching was not successful when the example signature matcher212 does not provide the example viewing type determiner 214 with amatching reference signature or sequence of matching referencesignatures. For example, the viewing type determiner 214 determines thatthe signature matching was not successful when the example signaturematcher 212 does not match the identified reference signature orsequence of identified reference signatures from the referenceidentifier 210 to the monitored media signatures from the example mediameter 105. In some examples, the viewing type determiner 214 determinesthat the signature matching was not successful if the signature matcher212 determines that no reference signature or sequence of referencesignatures were identified by the example reference identifier 210. Ifthe example viewing type determiner 214 determines that the signaturematching was successful, then process 400 continues to block 320 atwhich the example creditor interface 216 credits the media as live. Ifthe example viewing type determiner 214 determines that the signaturematching was not successful, then process 400 continues to block 322 atwhich the example creditor interface 216 credits the media astime-shifted. In some examples, the viewing type determiner 214 providesthe example creditor interface 216 with the live identification or thetime-shifted identification for the watermarked media.

At block 320, the example creditor interface 216 credits the media aslive. In some examples, the creditor interface 216 generatesidentification data for the watermarked media based on the output of theexample viewing type determiner 214. In some examples, the creditorinterface 216 transmits the identification data to the live mediacreditor 140 of FIG. 1 . Once the example creditor interface 216 creditsthe media as live, process 300 ends.

At block 322, the example creditor interface 216 credits the media astime-shifted. In some examples, the creditor interface 216 generatesidentification data for the watermarked media based on the output of theexample viewing type determiner 214. In some examples, the creditorinterface 216 transmits the identification data to the live mediacreditor 140 of FIG. 1 . Once the example creditor interface 216 creditsthe media as time-shifted, process 300 ends.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart representative of machine readable instructionswhich may be executed to implement the example reference identifier 210included in the example meter data analyzer 120 of FIG. 2 . The exampleprogram 312 of FIG. 4 begins execution at block 402 at which the examplereference identifier 210 identifies reference signatures associated withthe watermark station identifier. For example, the reference identifier210 identifies if any reference signatures stored in the referencedatabase 130 are associated with the station identifier of thewatermark. In some examples, the reference identifier 210 queries alibrary of reference signatures for reference signature(s) associatedwith the station ID of the watermark.

At block 404, the example reference identifier 210 determines if any ofthe identified reference signatures associated with reference timescorrespond to the watermark time of detection. In some examples, thereference identifier 210 determines if any of the identified referencesignatures having the same station ID as the watermark are associatedwith a reference timestamp that corresponds to the watermark time ofdetection. For example, the reference identifier 210 queries theidentified reference signatures with the same station ID for a referencesignature that is associated with a reference timestamp that representsa media presentation time (e.g., a broadcast time, a download time,etc.) corresponding to the time at which the media meter 105 detectedthe watermark. In such examples, “corresponding to” refers to thereference timestamp being within a tolerance or threshold of time fromthe watermark time of detection (e.g., the difference in time betweenthe reference timestamp and the watermark time of detection satisfiesthe threshold). For example, the tolerance or threshold of time may bewithin three seconds, five seconds, etc. If the example referenceidentifier 210 determines that an identified reference signatureassociated with a reference time corresponds to the watermark time ofdetection, then process 400 continues to block 406 at which the examplereference identifier 210 identifies reference signature withcorresponding reference information. If the example reference identifier210 determines that none of the identified reference signaturesassociated with the reference times correspond to the watermark time ofdetection, then process 400 continues to block 408 at which the examplereference identifier 210 identifies no reference signatures withcorresponding reference information.

At block 406, the example reference identifier 210 identifies thereference signature with corresponding reference information. In someexamples, the reference identifier 210 provides the information of thereference signature to the example signature matcher 212. In someexamples, the reference identifier 210 identifies a sequence ofreference signatures with similar reference information. Once theexample reference identifier 210 identifies reference signature withcorresponding reference information, process 312 completes and returnsto process 300 of FIG. 3 .

At block 408, the example reference identifier 210 identifies noreference signatures with corresponding reference information. In someexamples, the reference identifier 210 provides the signature matcher212 with no reference signatures. Once the example reference identifier210 identifies no reference signatures with corresponding referenceinformation, process 312 completes and returns to process 300 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example processor platform 500structured to execute the instructions of FIGS. 3 and 4 to implement theexample meter data analyzer 120 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 . The processorplatform 500 can be, for example, a server, a personal computer, aworkstation, a self-learning machine (e.g., a neural network), a mobiledevice (e.g., a cell phone, a smart phone, a tablet such as an iPad™), apersonal digital assistant (PDA), an Internet appliance, a DVD player, aCD player, a digital video recorder, a Blu-ray player, a gaming console,a personal video recorder, a set top box, a headset or other wearabledevice, or any other type of computing device.

The processor platform 500 of the illustrated example includes aprocessor 512. The processor 512 of the illustrated example is hardware.For example, the processor 512 can be implemented by one or moreintegrated circuits, logic circuits, microprocessors, GPUs, DSPs, orcontrollers from any desired family or manufacturer. The hardwareprocessor may be a semiconductor based (e.g., silicon based) device. Inthis example, the processor implements the example network interface202, the example watermark data segmenter 204, the example detectiontime determiner 206, the example database interface 208, the examplereference identifier 210, the example signature matcher 212, the exampleviewing type determiner 214, and the example creditor interface 216.

The processor 512 of the illustrated example includes a local memory 513(e.g., a cache). The processor 512 of the illustrated example is incommunication with a main memory including a volatile memory 514 and anon-volatile memory 516 via a bus 518. The volatile memory 514 may beimplemented by Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), DynamicRandom Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS® Dynamic Random Access Memory(RDRAM®) and/or any other type of random access memory device. Thenon-volatile memory 516 may be implemented by flash memory and/or anyother desired type of memory device. Access to the main memory 514, 516is controlled by a memory controller.

The processor platform 500 of the illustrated example also includes aninterface circuit 520. The interface circuit 520 may be implemented byany type of interface standard, such as an Ethernet interface, auniversal serial bus (USB), a Bluetooth® interface, a near fieldcommunication (NFC) interface, and/or a PCI express interface.

In the illustrated example, one or more input devices 522 are connectedto the interface circuit 520. The input device(s) 522 permit(s) a userto enter data and/or commands into the processor 512. The inputdevice(s) can be implemented by, for example, an audio sensor, amicrophone, a keyboard, a button, a mouse, a touchscreen, a track-pad, atrackball, isopoint and/or a voice recognition system.

One or more output devices 524 are also connected to the interfacecircuit 520 of the illustrated example. The output devices 524 can beimplemented, for example, by display devices (e.g., a light emittingdiode (LED), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), a cathode ray tube display (CRT), an in-place switching(IPS) display, a touchscreen, etc.), a tactile output device, a printerand/or speaker. The interface circuit 520 of the illustrated example,thus, typically includes a graphics driver card, a graphics driver chipand/or a graphics driver processor.

The interface circuit 520 of the illustrated example also includes acommunication device such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, amodem, a residential gateway, a wireless access point, and/or a networkinterface to facilitate exchange of data with external machines (e.g.,computing devices of any kind) via a network 526. The communication canbe via, for example, an Ethernet connection, a digital subscriber line(DSL) connection, a telephone line connection, a coaxial cable system, asatellite system, a line-of-site wireless system, a cellular telephonesystem, etc.

The processor platform 500 of the illustrated example also includes oneor more mass storage devices 528 for storing software and/or data.Examples of such mass storage devices 528 include floppy disk drives,hard drive disks, compact disk drives, Blu-ray disk drives, redundantarray of independent disks (RAID) systems, and digital versatile disk(DVD) drives.

The machine executable instructions 532 of FIGS. 3 and 4 may be storedin the mass storage device 528, in the volatile memory 514, in thenon-volatile memory 516, and/or on a removable non-transitory computerreadable storage medium such as a CD or DVD.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that example methods,apparatus and articles of manufacture have been disclosed that allow forleveraging the information from the detected watermarks in anenvironment with ambient noise to determine crediting of live andtime-shifted media. The disclosed methods, apparatus and articles ofmanufacture use the watermark data in conjunction with signaturematching to determine if the watermark identifies live or time-shiftedmedia. The disclosed examples improve the efficiency of using acomputing device by using the station ID and detection time of thewatermark to focus the signature matching process. The disclosedmethods, apparatus and articles of manufacture are accordingly directedto one or more improvement(s) in the functioning of a computer.

Example methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture to usestation identification to enable confirmation of exposure to live mediaare disclosed herein. Further examples and combinations thereof includethe following:

Example 1 includes an apparatus comprising a watermark data segmenter todetermine a media identifier conveyed by a watermark, a detection timedeterminer to determine a time at which a media meter detected thewatermark from a media presentation by a media device, a referenceidentifier to query a library of reference signatures for a referencesignature associated with the media identifier of the watermark andassociated with a reference timestamp corresponding to the time at whichthe media meter detected the watermark, and a viewing type determiner todetermine whether the media presentation is live or time-shifted basedon whether a result of the query indicates the reference signature doesnot exist in the library of reference signatures.

Example 2 includes the apparatus of example 1, wherein the referencetimestamp corresponds to the time at which the media meter detected thewatermark when a difference in time between the reference timestamp andthe time at which the media meter detected the watermark satisfies athreshold.

Example 3 includes the apparatus of example 2, wherein the referencetimestamp corresponds to a broadcast time or a download time of thereference signature.

Example 4 includes the apparatus of example 1, wherein the viewing typedeterminer is to determine that the media presentation is time-shiftedwhen the result of the query indicates the reference signature does notexist in the library of reference signatures.

Example 5 includes the apparatus of example 1, the apparatus furtherincluding a signature matcher to compare a monitored media signature toan identified reference signature associated with the media identifierof the watermark and associated with the reference timestamp, themonitored media signature included in monitoring data reported by themedia meter.

Example 6 includes the apparatus of example 5, wherein the viewing typedeterminer is to determine that the media presentation is time-shiftedwhen the result of the query indicates the reference signature exists inthe library of reference signatures and the identified referencesignature does not match the monitored media signature.

Example 7 includes the apparatus of example 5, wherein the viewing typedeterminer is to determine that the media presentation is live when theresult of the query indicates the reference signature exists in thelibrary of reference signatures and the identified reference signaturematches the monitored media signature.

Example 8 includes the apparatus of example 1, the apparatus furtherincluding a creditor interface to credit media associated with thewatermark as live or time-shifted.

Example 9 includes a non-transitory computer readable medium comprisinginstructions which, when executed, cause a machine to at least determinea media identifier conveyed by a watermark, determine a time at which amedia meter detected the watermark from a media presentation by a mediadevice, query a library of reference signatures for a referencesignature associated with the media identifier of the watermark andassociated with a reference timestamp corresponding to the time at whichthe media meter detected the watermark, and determine whether the mediapresentation is live or time-shifted based on whether a result of thequery indicates the reference signature does not exist in the library ofreference signatures.

Example 10 includes the non-transitory computer readable medium ofexample 9, wherein the reference timestamp corresponds to the time atwhich the media meter detected the watermark when a difference in timebetween the reference timestamp and the time at which the media meterdetected the watermark satisfies a threshold.

Example 11 includes the non-transitory computer readable medium ofexample 9, wherein the instructions cause the machine to determine thatthe media presentation is time-shifted when the result of the queryindicates the reference signature does not exist in the library ofreference signatures.

Example 12 includes the non-transitory computer readable medium ofexample 9, wherein the instructions cause the machine to compare amonitored media signature to an identified reference signatureassociated with the media identifier of the watermark and associatedwith the reference timestamp, the monitored media signature included inmonitoring data reported by the media meter.

Example 13 includes the non-transitory computer readable medium ofexample 12, wherein the instructions cause the machine to determine thatthe media presentation is time-shifted when the result of the queryindicates the reference signature exists in the library of referencesignatures and the identified reference signature does not match themonitored media signature.

Example 14 includes the non-transitory computer readable medium ofexample 12, wherein the instructions cause the machine to determine thatthe media presentation is live when the result of the query indicatesthe reference signature exists in the library of reference signaturesand the identified reference signature matches the monitored mediasignature.

Example 15 includes a method comprising determining a media identifierconveyed by a watermark, determining a time at which a media meterdetected the watermark from a media presentation by a media device,querying, by executing an instruction with a processor, a library ofreference signatures for a reference signature associated with the mediaidentifier of the watermark and associated with a reference timestampcorresponding to the time at which the media meter detected thewatermark, and determining whether the media presentation is live ortime-shifted based on whether a result of the query returns at least onereference signature that satisfies the query.

Example 16 includes the method of example 15, wherein the referencetimestamp corresponds to the time at which the media meter detected thewatermark when a difference in time between the reference timestamp andthe time at which the media meter detected the watermark satisfies athreshold.

Example 17 includes the method of example 15, wherein the determining ofwhether the media presentation is live or time-shifted includesdetermining that the media presentation is time-shifted when the resultof the query does not return the at least one reference signature thatsatisfies the query.

Example 18 includes the method of example 15, further includingcomparing a monitored media signature to an identified referencesignature associated with the media identifier of the watermark andassociated with the reference timestamp, the monitored media signatureincluded in monitoring data reported by the media meter.

Example 19 includes the method of example 18, wherein the determining ofwhether the media presentation is live or time-shifted includesdetermining that the media presentation is time-shifted when the resultof the query returns the at least one reference signature that satisfiesthe query and the identified reference signature does not match themonitored media signature.

Example 20 includes the method of example 18, wherein the determining ofwhether the media presentation is live or time-shifted includesdetermining that the media presentation is live when the result of thequery returns the at least one reference signature that satisfies thequery and the identified reference signature matches the monitored mediasignature. Although certain example methods, apparatus and articles ofmanufacture have been disclosed herein, the scope of coverage of thispatent is not limited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers allmethods, apparatus and articles of manufacture fairly falling within thescope of the claims of this patent.

The following claims are hereby incorporated into this DetailedDescription by this reference, with each claim standing on its own as aseparate embodiment of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a watermark datasegmenter to determine a media identifier conveyed by a watermark; adetection time determiner to determine a time at which a media meterdetected the watermark from a media presentation by a media device; areference identifier to query a library of reference signatures for areference signature associated with the media identifier of thewatermark and associated with a reference timestamp corresponding to thetime at which the media meter detected the watermark; and a viewing typedeterminer to determine whether the media presentation is live ortime-shifted based on whether a result of the query indicates thereference signature does not exist in the library of referencesignatures.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the reference timestampcorresponds to the time at which the media meter detected the watermarkwhen a difference in time between the reference timestamp and the timeat which the media meter detected the watermark satisfies a threshold.3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the reference timestamp correspondsto a broadcast time or a download time of the reference signature. 4.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the viewing type determiner is todetermine that the media presentation is time-shifted when the result ofthe query indicates the reference signature does not exist in thelibrary of reference signatures.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, theapparatus further including a signature matcher to compare a monitoredmedia signature to an identified reference signature associated with themedia identifier of the watermark and associated with the referencetimestamp, the monitored media signature included in monitoring datareported by the media meter.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein theviewing type determiner is to determine that the media presentation istime-shifted when the result of the query indicates the referencesignature exists in the library of reference signatures and theidentified reference signature does not match the monitored mediasignature.
 7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the viewing typedeterminer is to determine that the media presentation is live when theresult of the query indicates the reference signature exists in thelibrary of reference signatures and the identified reference signaturematches the monitored media signature.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, theapparatus further including a creditor interface to credit mediaassociated with the watermark as live or time-shifted.
 9. Anon-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions which,when executed, cause a machine to at least: determine a media identifierconveyed by a watermark; determine a time at which a media meterdetected the watermark from a media presentation by a media device;query a library of reference signatures for a reference signatureassociated with the media identifier of the watermark and associatedwith a reference timestamp corresponding to the time at which the mediameter detected the watermark; and determine whether the mediapresentation is live or time-shifted based on whether a result of thequery indicates the reference signature does not exist in the library ofreference signatures.
 10. The non-transitory computer readable medium ofclaim 9, wherein the reference timestamp corresponds to the time atwhich the media meter detected the watermark when a difference in timebetween the reference timestamp and the time at which the media meterdetected the watermark satisfies a threshold.
 11. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 9, wherein the instructions cause themachine to determine that the media presentation is time-shifted whenthe result of the query indicates the reference signature does not existin the library of reference signatures.
 12. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 9, wherein the instructions cause the machineto compare a monitored media signature to an identified referencesignature associated with the media identifier of the watermark andassociated with the reference timestamp, the monitored media signatureincluded in monitoring data reported by the media meter.
 13. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein theinstructions cause the machine to determine that the media presentationis time-shifted when the result of the query indicates the referencesignature exists in the library of reference signatures and theidentified reference signature does not match the monitored mediasignature.
 14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12,wherein the instructions cause the machine to determine that the mediapresentation is live when the result of the query indicates thereference signature exists in the library of reference signatures andthe identified reference signature matches the monitored mediasignature.
 15. A method comprising: determining a media identifierconveyed by a watermark; determining a time at which a media meterdetected the watermark from a media presentation by a media device;querying, by executing an instruction with a processor, a library ofreference signatures for a reference signature associated with the mediaidentifier of the watermark and associated with a reference timestampcorresponding to the time at which the media meter detected thewatermark; and determining whether the media presentation is live ortime-shifted based on whether a result of the query returns at least onereference signature that satisfies the query.
 16. The method of claim15, wherein the reference timestamp corresponds to the time at which themedia meter detected the watermark when a difference in time between thereference timestamp and the time at which the media meter detected thewatermark satisfies a threshold.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein thedetermining of whether the media presentation is live or time-shiftedincludes determining that the media presentation is time-shifted whenthe result of the query does not return the at least one referencesignature that satisfies the query.
 18. The method of claim 15, furtherincluding comparing a monitored media signature to an identifiedreference signature associated with the media identifier of thewatermark and associated with the reference timestamp, the monitoredmedia signature included in monitoring data reported by the media meter.19. The method of claim 18, wherein the determining of whether the mediapresentation is live or time-shifted includes determining that the mediapresentation is time-shifted when the result of the query returns the atleast one reference signature that satisfies the query and theidentified reference signature does not match the monitored mediasignature.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the determining ofwhether the media presentation is live or time-shifted includesdetermining that the media presentation is live when the result of thequery returns at least one reference signature that satisfies the queryand the identified reference signature matches the monitored mediasignature.